Traditional leader Chief Nyangazonke Ndiweni has called for a reshuffle of police officers in Matobo District, Matabeleland South, over continued stock theft and allegations that some suspects are being released without proper investigations.
The chief said residents had lost confidence in the police’s handling of stock theft cases and wanted senior authorities to investigate how such cases were being dealt with.
His comments follow a recent incident in which residents accused people from Natisa of stealing and slaughtering a cow in the Kezi Turn area.
Speaking to CITE, Chief Nyangazonke said stock theft was affecting communities beyond Natisa and had become a wider problem in the area.
On this topic
“It is not only Natisa that is affected. This situation of stock theft has not stopped. We have even created groups on anti-stock theft from, Mbalabala, Nyangazonke and several others to report on stock theft. People are concerned about the riches that they are making with their livestock,” he said.
He said livestock was a major source of livelihood for communities in the drought-prone area, making cattle theft particularly damaging.
“We are from a dry region and our survival is from our livestock. Our cows die because of the drought, but with the little that we have, people kill our cows and sell them,” Chief Nyangazonke said.
He called on the government and other authorities to investigate the number of people arrested for stock theft and the number of animals reported stolen.
“From the high offices and the government we want them to investigate and look at how many people have been caught and how many animals have been recorded for stock theft. The question is, does the government and health care facilities go to butchers and check if the meat has been cleared,” he said.
Chief Nyangazonke also raised concerns about the handling of a recent case involving a woman whose cattle were allegedly stolen.
“I met the woman whose cows were recently stolen at around 5pm and she was saying she was rushing home to try and catch the thieves and she was looking for transport to get there and she said she had hired a car to get the police but the police didn’t help,” he said.
He said another case involved three cattle that were allegedly slaughtered, with their heads left on the roadside.
“Three weeks ago there were about three cows which were killed and the heads of the cows were left on the road, and pictures were then taken and put in the anti-stock theft group,” Chief Nyangazonke said.
He said residents later found suspects but were reluctant to hand them over to police because of concerns about how the case would be handled.
“These people were then found but the residents did not have trust in handing over the criminals to the police. The residents say that the police only wanted the thieves but they did not request to go to the scene,” he said.
Chief Nyangazonke said residents asked the police officers to identify themselves but the officers allegedly refused.
“The residents asked for their identification but the police refused so they ended up taking the thieves to Matopo Police Station. Now the criminal is out on bail,” he said.
He said residents were now calling for a reshuffle of police officers in the area.
“What we are requesting as residents is an immediate reshuffle of the police. We have been suffering from this for a long time where our cattle has been stolen and no one has been held accountable and criminals have been told to go free,” Chief Nyangazonke said.
He also accused some police officers of failing to provide the service expected by residents, although he did not provide evidence to support the allegation.
“The police that come here do not want to provide a service but they are part of the criminal activities, so we are requesting that they be shuffled and the new ones that come investigate and find out what exactly happened,” he said.
Chief Nyangazonke also questioned the strength of the police docket in the case.
“I think whoever wrote the docket made it very weak, that’s just my opinion. I can’t say it was one person who wrote it but maybe many wrote it but they made it very weak at the expense of someone who has lost their cows,” he said.
He said residents would continue supporting people affected by stock theft and called for investigations by senior authorities.
“We are going to stand with the community, we want investigations to take place from the high offices whether provincial or national on how the cows were stolen,” Chief Nyangazonke said.
Residents raise concerns
Residents who previously spoke to CITE about the incident requested anonymity, saying they feared being identified when discussing the case.
They said the cow had allegedly been stolen and slaughtered on a Friday, with the meat removed from the carcass.
“The cow was stolen and slaughtered, with the meat peeled off the carcass. One person was left behind to guard the meat while waiting for a buyer who was expected to arrive in the evening,” said one resident.
The resident said the person allegedly guarding the meat was later caught and questioned.
“The person guarding the meat was caught by us residents and we questioned him about the incident. The man revealed what had happened and identified other people he was allegedly working with,” the resident said.
The residents also raised concerns about a vehicle that they said was expected to transport the meat.
“A car that was expected to transport the stolen meat belonged to people from Natisa. We then took the man to Natisa, where police officers from Kezi later arrived,” said the resident.
They said the arrival of the police created tension because residents did not trust that the case would be handled properly.
“The arrival of the police officers caused tension among us residents, and we refused to allow the Kezi police to handle the case. We accused the Kezi police of working together with people involved in the theft of cattle, because we did not have confidence that the matter would be handled properly,” said the resident.
The residents also alleged that the police arrived with a businessperson who was suspected of buying stolen cattle.
“The police officers had also arrived with a businessperson who was allegedly suspected of buying stolen cattle because they are known to work hand in hand with business people that buy stolen cattle,” said the resident.
The people involved were eventually taken to Matopo Police Station.
Matabeleland South police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Stanford Mguni confirmed that three people had been arrested in connection with the case.
“Three accused persons were arrested in connection with the case. One was convicted and sentenced to 9 years in prison and 6 years suspension for good behavior, the other two were remanded in custody,” Mguni said.
Leave a Reply